Danny Phantom: What if?
by StoneSmith
Summary: What if Danny had gone into the Ghost Zone when he got his powers? What if he lost his memory? And what if the story we all knew was told with a darker tone and a less episodic plot line. Heros will be humanized, antagonist will be relatable, and intelligent, and all the characters we know, along with some we don't, struggle to find their place between colliding worlds.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

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POV - Clockwork

There were moments, few and fleeting though they were, in which Clockwork found himself surprised. These moments were called fixed points, and were the one true weakness Clockwork possessed. For in these moments Clockwork was struck with an infinite number of new possible timelines coming into existence, and all the other infinite possible time lines ceasing to be possible. To creatures like the Observers, when something had happened, then all other possibilities were forgotten, discarded, and ignored. For Clockwork, those other possibilities were just as real as the one he was present in. This is because of his ability to control and change time.

However, fixed points were different. When a fixed point in time occurred Clockwork could no longer go back. He could observe, he could even change small details, but when a fixed point happened it would always happen, no matter what was attempted in the past. On a day in the nineteen eighty's, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. On this day one Jack Fenton set into play a chain of events that would redefine reality as it was known.

Jack, unwittingly, caused the injury and genetic mutation of his friend Vlad Masters, and created something new which had never before occurred. Clockwork had seen something similar being a possibility before in many other realities, but the odds of a portal connecting the ghost zone to the human world opening exactly where a person was standing had been so astronomically low that he had never looked deeply into those timelines.

And yet, now Clockwork was hit by a wave of emotions as he experienced all of the possible futures that would arise from this new fixed point. Clockwork watched as Jack married Maddie and they conceived a child named Jazz, then another named Daniel. The second child Daniel, or Danny as he most often grew to be called, was at the epicenter of so much in so many realities. He would be the center of countless critical events in countless possible time lines. Clockwork watched bewildered seeing all of the pain the boy ever would, and could experience all at once, and then Clockwork began to cry.

It was slow at first. Unconscious tears pouring slowly from his eyes. This then progressed into an uncontrolled sobbing. Clockwork had seen pain and suffering before on scales beyond comprehension, but never like this. Because, as Clockwork peered into the life of this boy he saw something he had never seen before, a friend. Clockwork saw the many countless ways he met the boy and the friendship they formed. In an instant Clockwork almost lost himself at seeing the immense pain this boys would be subjected to throughout his life. It was more than the immortal could bear.

After the brief instant in which Clockwork experienced all of this, he felt a presence emerge beside him. It was one of the Observers here to comment on the new fixed point. "This future, we did not see this coming, why did you not warn us of this?" the ghost lobbed it's accusations toward Clockwork with frustration clear in it's voice. "This time could lead to the ruin of us all! We created you for the express purpose of preventing timelines such as these from coming into existence. You must fix this at once!"

As the Observer finished it's accusations Clockwork turned towards the ghost. He looked at the being with rage filling his eyes. These ghosts had always frustrated Clockwork, but this was beyond the normal frustration their limited views cused him. This thing, had the audacity to demand he erase this timeline, the only timeline in which Danny would ever exist. Clockwork, for a moment lost himself. Though for one who controls time, a moment is an eternity. Clockwork spent several hours in that moment. He would destroy the observer in countless ways for that idea before rewinding time to do so all again. In that moment Clockwork took as much of his rage and frustration as he could out on the unfortunate ghost.

Then, having rewound time, one last time, he turned to the Observer calmly, his rage having been vented. "I did not see this either, it is a fixed point. You know I can neither see, nor change these events once they have occurred. All I can do now is change the course of time from this point on. The rest is beyond me." Clockwork said all of this before feeling very drained. He felt as though his very being had been shook by the creation of this particular fixed point.

The Observer turned from clockwork in frustration. "We can only see the most likely future as you know, and we are not allowed to intervene. However, you must do so for us. This creature that had been born and will be born, this Halfa, could be the ruin of us all." With that the observer left Clockwork to his thoughts.

Clockwork looked down at the event unfolding before him in present time, and he couldn't help but be excited for what the future would hold.

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 **Thank you, if you managed to read this and make it to this point. Feedback is always welcome. For part of this story I will be taking** _(with permission)_ **ideas from a fellow writer FriTik and his Danny Phantom story Gone Ghost. If you have yet to read it I would highly recommend it. He updates fairly often and seems to have a strong story progressing.**

 **I will also be accepting submissions for ghosts to appear within the story. Ghost only however, and obviously the more detail the more likely I am to accept said ghost. The acceptance will be at my** **discretion and I will only be accepting them if I feel the add to the story. I won't be changing the story I have just for your ghost to be in it.**

 **That being said I have a general story idea, and some stops I want to make along the way. Beyond that I am open to suggestions and have a wide need for interesting characters. Nobody want's this to be a repeat of the over 700 pages of Danny Phantom stories on this site, so lets get some new and exciting stuff in to this.**

 **For now, that's about all I got.**

 **All the best,**

 **StoneSmith**


	2. Chapter 1: What if?

**I'd like to start of with a huge thanks. The prologue has been up for a matter of hours and already I have gotten many wonderful responses. As such I decided to go ahead and throw out the first chapter.**

 **To be honest, we are still getting a bit of exposition here, but the story is really going to take of in chapter two. That is when things will really split from the original story.**

 **A huge thank you to SonicCrazyGal for her submission of a ghost. You're character will be present in the next chapter as she fits what I had planned greatly!**

 **Without any more** **ado** **or mushy stuff on to the story!**

Chapter 1: What if

POV Danny

Danny had been hesitant to bring Sam and Tucker down here to his parent's lab. However, Sam and Tucker had been quite insistent. Tucker had heard about his parent's inventions and wanted to see what the lab looked like with all it's tech, and as for Sam. Well Sam had no interest in the lab at first, but when Danny mentioned that it was to study ghosts, the goth couldn't help but to have her curiosity peaked.

That being that, Danny had given into their pleading, or rather they had ignored his pleading as they walked past him into the downstairs lab, and went down into the lab with them. He briefly showed them what many of the devices were and then hastily attempted to rush the two out of the lab before his parents got home.

"Hold on Danny." Sam said as he attempted to physically push them towards the door. "What is that big doorway thing on the wall? You haven't said anything about that."

Danny stopped shoving his friends for a moment to glance at the closed Fenton Portal in the wall before Tucker also interjected.

"Yeah man," Tucker said. "Just tell us about that for a sec and then we'll go."

Danny let out a sigh. He knew how this would go, Sam and Tucker were always like this. They would ask for one thing, and then another, and all in all it reminded Danny of the story his parent's wrote and read to him as a kid, 'If you give a ghost a ball of ectoplasm.' He later found out that they ripped that book off from someone else. Even knowing this Danny always gave in to them at some point, so why argue?

"Fine." Danny said, "This is my parent's ghost portal. It's kind of their biggest project ever and the whole reason they moved to Amity Park after graduating college."

Danny said as he walked over to the ghost portal's control panel and began to open the doors.

"Supposedly this city is one of the strongest places in America for ectoplasmic activity, and this house was apparently the epicenter for all of that activity. So they thought it would be the perfect places to try and rip a hole into another dimension."

Danny gave them the brief version. If his dad had been there when they asked that, then he would have given them the same three hour lecture he had given Jazz and Danny last week. He walked back over to Sam and Tucker after opening the doors for them to see how the portal went several feet back into the wall.

"Earlier this morning they gave the portal it's first test run, but all they got was a brief spark. After seeing it didn't work my dad ran upstairs to eat some Fenton Fudge, and after discovering there was none left he got into the RV and drove to the store to get the supplies to make more."

Danny finished his spiel and walked back towards the portal to close it back up.

"Wait!" Sam called as Danny went to shut the door. "Let me get a picture of it, and of you." Sam held up a camera.

"And don't you have anything that makes you look more sciency? Right now you look so out of place beside the portal." Tucker said gesturing to Danny's t-shirt and pants.

Danny sighed again. He knew this would happen. "Yeah ok, I've got a hazmat suit over there, just promise after the pic we are done down here. My parents will flip their lid if we are down here without their knowledge."

"Promise." Sam and Tucker said in unision.

With that Danny quickly put on his hazmat suit which was hanging up in one of the far corners of the lab. He walked back to the control panel and stood there waiting for Sam to take a picture.

"What the heck is that on your chest?" Tucker said pointing at Danny's hazmat suit.

"Huh? Oh, it's my dad's stupid logo. He puts it on almost everything." Danny said with a shrug.

Sam rolled her eyes and said, "Well you can't go walking around with that on your chest" and then ripped the logo right off. "Much better."

Danny then stood beside the frame of the portal and looked at Sam expectantly.

"That's not good enough Danny." She said. "You need to look like you are actually in the lab not just posing or something. Why don't you go inside the portal and act like you're working on it"

Danny wasn't sure how to respond. At first he thought she was joking, but when she waited for him to move he realized just how serious she was. If it had been anyone else he probably would've just said o and walked away. It seemed Sam could always convince him to go out of his comfort zone though.

Reluctantly, Danny began to walk into the portal. He was the lab had already been poorly lit, but when stepping into the portal it got much darker. Danny hear the flash of Sam's camera and turned around to face her. That's when he lost his footing and fell deeper into the portal. He tried to catch himself, but when he thrust his hand out against the wall it hit something. Danny felt the small thing in his hand give way into the wall and hear a tiny click.

Then he felt pain. Burning, searing, and excruciating pain shoot through his body. There was a blinding light before his vision went dark and all he could sense was the pain in every part of his body. Danny heard Sam and Tucker calling his name, but their voices seemed far off and echoed. After a few more moments of the intense pain Danny he lost consciousness.

When he woke up Danny opened his eyes, but all he could see was a vast swirling mass of green and black. At first he was afraid he had gone blind, but then he raised his hands up and saw them covered in white gloves, and glowing?

Danny looked around him in confusion. He couldn't think clearly, his head was so fuzzy and it hurt. In fact, everything hurt! Danny found himself doubled over in pain on top of a random rock in this vast sea of green.

He tried to think of where he was, but all he could remember was a bright flash, someone calling his name, and a face. A girl.

It was incredibly hard to think though. Every part of him throbbed with each beat of his…

Wait a minute. He couldn't feel his pulse.

Danny took in a sharp breath in fright, and then realized he hadn't been breathing.

Danny lost himself in a vortex of confusion and pain, matching the literal vortex he was in of green and black.

Through all of this one word came to him.

Ghost.

 **Poor Danny. This is only the start of his confusion.**

 **So what do you think? As always, f** **eedback is quite welcome. I am still accepting submissions for ghosts to appear within the story. Ghost only however, and obviously the more detail the more likely I am to accept said ghost. The acceptance will be at my discretion and I will only be accepting them if I feel the add to the story. I won't be changing the story I have just for your ghost to be in it.**

 **The next chapter is one I am really excited for, and if the support keeps up you won't have to wait long. Feel free to PM me any ideas or leave a review. I read everything, and am open to criticism.**

 **For now, that's about all I got.**

 **All the best,**

 **StoneSmith**


	3. Chapter 2: A Whole New World

**Hello again.**

 **Just a brief update on the way I am doing things, I plan to have interloudes inbetween chapters each time ghost is introduced. So the next thing to be posted will be one of these.**

 **I am not sure if I can keep up my daily updates, but the more reviews I get the more I will write.**

 **Anyway, on to the story.**

Chapter 2: A Whole New World

POV Danny

After a number of hours Danny had managed to calm down. In this time he was also able to come to a number of realizations. The first, being that his name was Danny. This he deduced from the from his memory of the voice calling out to him before he blacked out.

Secondly, he realized that he had died. He wasn't sure how he knew it, but the floating rocks, random levitating doors, occasional glowing thing whizzing by, and the endless void of green and black, all told him that he was in a world of ghost.

Thirdly he realized he couldn't remember much. He wasn't sure if it was from the electrical shock he received, or the whole being a ghost thing, but he was certain that one, if not both, of those had caused his memory loss.

Lastly he realized that he was at a complete loss as for what to do next. He was stuck sitting on a floating piece of rock. Danny was unsure if anyone would ever come by to help, how he would get food and water, or even if he needed things like food and water anymore!

Left alone to his confusion and frustration Danny began to pace. This went on for several minutes, or hours. Danny wasn't really sure. In this green and black void it was nearly impossible to tell the passing of time.

After feeling as though he had been pacing for an eternity, Danny resorted to the one other thing he knew to do. He began to yell for help.

POV Acrylic

Acrylic had been hard at work on her current piece. This mostly entailed painting over the dreadfully drab doors to other ghost's lairs within the section of the ghost zone she lived in, The Barrens. Currently she was at the door of one Klemper. His door was a fridge, decorated with a couple of magnets, but when Acrylic was done it would portray the frigid icy labyrinth within.

She was in the middle of adding some soft greys and blues to serve as a background, when she heard a noise. At first she ignored it, and continued her work, but like the ticking of a clock she just could not drown it out. Maybe it was because she was at a loss with this piece. For Acrylic her obsession was to fill the world with her art work, but sometimes she just wasn't sure what she wanted to paint. This often lead to her painting just to paint, and the piece being lackluster when compared to her more inspired work.

She continued to hear the incessant noise, which she now recognized as someone screaming. Irritated Acrylic flew off in the direction of the sound with the intent of putting an end to the annoying sound. When she got closer she began to recognize the screams as a cry for help. Coming closer she saw a young looking ghost on a rock crying out for help.

For a moment she paused upon seeing him. This ghost was special. She could tell right off the bat. The first give away was his color. While most ghost had green skin and a green glow around them, some rare ghost did not.

Those with a white glow, like the ghost before her, came about in one of two ways. The first is what is called a ghost of an idea. These ghosts are formed from a strong belief and retelling of myths in the human world. The second, was when the ghost in question was killed by their own hand.

Acrylic looked at the boy in wonder. She had met very few ghost with this white aura, and had always wanted to paint one. Slowly, she drifted closer to the boy to get a better look at his features.

POV Danny

Danny had been shouting for help for a few minutes, before what he could only guess was another ghost drew near. Upon seeing the way she stared intently at him Danny began to regret his decision.

He wasn't sure if ghost could die, but he didn't want to find out.

Slowly, and without a word, the ghost glided down towards Danny. 'I wonder if I can fly like that?' he thought to himself.

"Uh, hi?" Danny said trying to get a response out of the ghost. Yet she completely ignored him even as she got very close to him. When she touched down her ghostly tail split and formed legs, and Danny got his first good look at her.

She had light green skin, which let off a slight glow like his own. Her hair was in a simple braid, and had a violet tinge to it. Her eyes had a similar purple color to her hair, but darker. She wore a purple shirt that fit her loosely hanging off her left shoulder with black cargo pants both splattered slightly with assorted paints, and multiple bracelets on each arm.

Then as she came closer, deeply into his personal space at this point, Danny noticed that she held a paintbrush and paint pallet. He raised up his arms in an attempt to keep her at arm's length, but she merely went under his arms and circled around Danny muttering to herself.

"Ummm. I'm Danny, and you're way too close." Danny said offering a hand as he stepped back from her.

She stood up and looked at Danny with a blank face, as if it were the first time she was realizing there was a pers- ghost occupying the space she had been staring at.

"Oh sorry about that! I was just looking at your form. It is really fantastic and I would love take it." She said with a smile.

"Wait what? You want to take my, form? What the heck does that even mean? You need to back up lady I'm warning you." Danny said with confusion and fear in his voice.

"What? Oh sorry I meant in a painting! I'd like to paint you is all. You have such a handsome face, and you must be so young! Fifteen?" She said.

"Ah ok. I see." Danny said. "And no fourteen."

"Excellent!" Said the ghost. "I must paint you!" Danny wasn't sure how to take that considering he was a ghost so young.

"Tell ya what, if you answer some of my questions, and help me get of this floating rock, I will let you paint me as much as you want. Sound good?" Dann ventured offering a hand to her.

"Deal!" She squealed in excitement shaking his hand. "I'm Acrylic by the way. Nice to meet you Danny."

"Uhhh good to meet you too." Danny said, still a little ruffled from by her personality. "So, first things first. Where am I?"

"Ummm." Acrylic droned for a moment while holding her finger to her lips. "I think we are in the Barrens right now. It's a pretty populated part of the zone."

"Right? So what's the zone?" Danny asked.

"Oh wow! You're really new aren't cha?" Acrylic said. "Well where we are is the Ghost Zone. It's where people who become ghost when they die go." She gestured to the void around them. "I've never really cared to explore too thoroughly, but it goes on pretty much forever I think."

"Wait, does that mean that I… Ya know… Died?" Danny asked.

"Well I mean yeah, that would be why you're a ghost. Don't fret though! Being a ghost ain't so bad! As long is you don't have a bad obsession it can be pretty alright." Acrylic said.

"Obsession? What's that? And is there anyway to get back home to earth?" Danny asked, confusion in his voice. Every time she answered one of his questions Danny seemed to have two more.

"Well uh. Your obsession is something that your core drives you to do. It's the why you are the ghost that you are. Some people think it's the only thing that keeps you from just fading away when you die." She said.

Her finger had gone back over her lips and Danny could see she was really thinking about her answers now, having calmed down from her excitement. "Basically," Acrylic continued, "you'll get this feeling, or hear this voice, and you'll just be compelled to do something. If you can't or don't do your obsession then you will get really weak and maybe even fade away. Mne is painting! I want to fill the zone with my artwork for people to enjoy and admire. As for the getting back to the human world part that's kinda hard. You can, but it's not easy and you may not come out where or even when you came in."

"Ok, I think I followed most of what you just said, but what is a core?" Danny questioned her once again.

"Oh duh, leave it to me to leave out the most important part about being a ghost. Your core is basically your heart, and your brain, and all your other important squishy stuff you had as a human in one. It is basically what makes you, you. As long as you're here in the zone you shouldn't run into too much trouble keeping your core healthy. We are made of ectoplasm and naturally take it in from the zone around us. In the human world though there is not ectoplasm, so the only way to feed your core is to to feed your obsession." Acrylic said.

Danny stood there taking it all in for a moment. "Ok so, I'm a ghost now right? And I could go home, but it would be dangerous and hard. However, if I stay here I'll be pretty much ok? Is that about right?" he said.

"You betcha!" Acrylic said smiling at Danny.

"Ok, well one last question for now. Can you teach me how to fly like that?" Danny said gesturing at Acrylic's feet which were hovering off the ground.

"Sure, but first thing's first. You got to ask a lot of questions, so let me paint you. Then we can work on flying." Acrylic said as she got out her brush and did the stereotypical closing one eye and holding up thumb for perspective.

"I guess that's fair." Danny said with a sigh.

He was glad he could still do that. Apparently, despite not needing to breathe he could. Which was a great comfort to him in the midst of all of this.

"Excellent!" Acrylic said. "Now go stand over there and don't move."

 **So what did ya think? Huge thanks to SonicCrazyGirl for the character. We will get to see more of my take on Acrylic as the story goes on.**

 **Fell free to send me your own ghost.**

 **All the best,**

 **StoneSmith**


	4. Acrylic: Brittany Wilds

**Hello all.**

 **I'd think I'm going to be doing something like this every time Danny meets another ghost. If you like this idea tell me, if not tell me. If I get no feedback then I will keep it up.**

 **But for now enjoy getting to know why Acrylic is the way she is.**

Acrylic: Brittany Wilds

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Brittany had always been a quirky girl. It wasn't that she didn't fit in, it was more so she just kind of drifted from group to group. She was friends with the outcast and the A-listers alike, but she never really saw them outside of school. Outside of school Brittany was busy.

Brittany spent the majority of her time painting, sketching, and doing some photography. It was simply her favorite way to spend her time. Despite being quite good, and creating countless pieces Brittany never showed anyone her work.

Well, there were a few she would show her work to.

Brittany spent most weekends at her local Children's Hospital. She would spend her time volunteering with the kids, teaching them to paint or draw, and taking photos with them. She was like a celebrity there. All the staff knew her, and all of the patients loved her.

To Brittany life was perfect. Until, one day it changed.

Brittany had graduated high school, but upon applying to her dream art school, they responded by telling her she did not have any pieces notable enough to allow entry. Upon hearing this, Brittany was destitute.

Over the next few weeks many of the children, and staff at the children's hospital noticed the gloom that clung to Brittany. It was no secret that her dream was to fill the world with her art for people to enjoy.

After a few board meetings, the hospital was able to give Brittany an opportunity to prove herself. The hospital owned a billboard about a half mile down the road, and decided to hire Brittany to make a collage for their new advertisement.

Brittany set to work straight away, a fire being struck within her. She went out that night to get the supplies she would need to make the collage and fulfill her dream.

On her walk home from the store, Brittany noticed a man had been following her. Taking every turn she took, and always staying just behind her. She quickened her pace, turned a corner, and darted into an alleyway in an attempt to lose him.

However, instead of walking by the alleyway, the man walked straight towards her.

"Listen up." He said with a hushed voice. Brittany tried to get a look at his face but the alleyway had cut out all light from the surrounding street lights. All she could see was his silhouette.

"I don't wanna hurt cha, or rape ya or nothin like that. I ain't a bad guy I swear, but I need cash bad. I got some guys after me and they're gonna break my knees if I don't get 'em their money. So just hand over your purse, don't cha say a word, and you'll be all set ok?" The mugger was gesturing with a knife as he talked calmly to Brittany.

Paralyzed by fear Brittany felt like a rat in a corner. Her adrenaline was pumping and she could feel her blood turning ice cold. She was grabbing her purse, and was about to hand it to the mugger, when another silhouette, appeared at the entrance of the alleyway.

"Hands where I can see them, now!" A police officer said raising a gun behind the mugger.

Quicker than Brittany could process the mugger grabbed her outstretched arm and pulled her into a choke hold, her body covering most of his, and his knife to her throat.

"I don't want no trouble!" the mugger shouted at the officer. "Just walk away and I'll let her go! Just walk away!"

The officer, unsure what to do, radioed for backup and kept his gun trained on the mugger.

Every second the mugger became more and more nervous and jumpy. He began to beg with and curse at the officer, and Brittany could feel what she assumed to be his tears on the back of her neck.

Brittany meanwhile has having a panic attack. She could feel the cool knife against her throat, and was terrified. Every second felt like an eternity as she tried not to breathe and not to swallow. Sweat was beading on her face, tears were welling in her eyes, and she was certain this would end poorly.

Then, there was a loud smash of glass from further in the alley. Despite probably being a cat knocking over a bottle, the sound was enough to spook everyone involved in the tense situation. Brittany involuntarily jumped at the loud sound, and the mugger reflexively jerked his hand.

This brought the cold blade straight through her throat, and cause Brittany to begin to bleed out. She only remained conscious for a moment, the fear causing her to faint, but the last thing she saw was that bloody knife dripping above her face.

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 **Soooo? Comments? Reviews? I need something man.**

 **I've been getting good feedback so I am keeping up this daily pace. I don't garuntee it will continue, but we will see.**

 **For now just enjoy reading. Please send any ideas, or characters you'd like to see to me, and I will try to make it work.**

 **All the best,**

 **StoneSmith**


	5. Chapter 3: Into the zone

**So hi...** **No I didn't die and enter the zone like young Daniel. I was close though. I had three strokes when I last left off and boy howdy has recovery been hectic.** **Anyway I am back and hopefully anyone who had an my interest in this still does. Here is a little something while I rediscover what I wanted for this story. I don't plan daily updates, but I won't be disappearing either.** **Anyway as always I hope you enjoy and feedback is a huge help.**

Chapter 3: Into the Zone

POV Danny

"That's it! Just like that. Keep your balance. Aaaaand you're upside down again…" Acrylic let out a heavy sigh.

Danny looked at her upside down. She looked incredibly bored. He was realizing that Acrylic had the attention span of a child, a really bored child.

"Well I'm not good at it or fast, but I can move in the direction I wanna go and I'm not scared of falling into the infinite abyss below so- why don't we do something else for a bit?" Danny asked.

Acrylic was nice, and he was really grateful for her tips on how to control his center. She said to try and picture being in an elevator to move up and down, which really helped him get around. She even helped him calm down when his legs merged into a tail and showed him how to get them back. So he felt like he owed her. Like he wanted to help her.

"Ok!" Acrylic said brightening up, both her smile and the green glow she gave off. "How about we go finish the painting I was working on yesterday before I came over to help you?" she asked slowly floating off.

"Wait yesterday? " Danny said wobbling behind her. "You showed up like an hour ago Acrylic."

"Nuh-uh" she said. "Time passes weirdly in the zone. If you aren't trying to keep track of it it just slips away. Some ghosts loose decades in moments in the wrong part of the zone. Others feel like they've been here for decades and only days have passed."

"How do you keep track of time then?" Danny asked. "How are you certain that it hasn't only been an hour?"

Acrylic stopped before a refrigerator door covered in blues and grays and turned around.

"Because Danny, I have a watch." She said holding out her wrist to him. Sure enough right there among her bracelets and armbands Acrylic had a small little watch ticking the seconds by.

"Where did you get a watch from?" Danny asked.

"I made it. If I can paint it I can make it. All I gotta do is channel a little ectoplasm into my paint and it will take the form of the real thing." She painted a snowman as she said this on the fridge door. Then the snowman began to glow and popped off of the door and floated between them.

"Wow. You've gotta be one of the strongest ghosts there is! You could do so much with that!" Danny said touching the cold torso of the snowman.

Acrylic laughed. "No not really. Its diverse, but I can't make anything really strong without wearing myself out and that's dangerous to do, even in the zone. Not everyone is as friendly as I am and it takes time to recover ectoplasm."

Danny nodded, taking the carrot from the snowman's face and biting into it. He was happy to note that despite being dead. Undead? He could still taste food. He could even swallow though he didn't feel much different once he did.

Danny practiced flying as he watched Acrylic paint and listened to her tell stories all about the zone. And so time passed. Danny practicing his new ghostly abilities, flying, turning invisible, and turning intangible, and Acrylic painting and exploring The Barrens for some new surface she had yet to cover.

And before he knew it Danny had already been dead two weeks.

 **So..? was it crap? worth the wait? want more? I have more questions than our Amnesiac.** **If you made it this far I'd appreciate some feedback, and if you're interested a beta reader to catch my little mistakes. I don't really edit these due to my busy schedule, so someone to proof read would be awesome.** **I really hope you liked it. Exposition is ending and things are about to really rev up. Stay tuned.** **All the best,** **StoneSmith**


	6. Chapter 4: Dearly Departed

**So I'm apparently binge writing this. I hope it's not crap.**

 **On that note I am looking for a beta reader so if you're interested PM me.**

 **Also still accepting OC characters. Ghost or humans are fine, but no halfas. Just PM me the info and there's a good chance I'll use it.**

 **With that said I hope you enjoy.**

 **Chapter 4: Dearly Departed**

POV Sam

"Danny!" Sam cried as she watched the gaping portal flash with electricity before its maw was replaced by a swirling green gateway to who knew where. Then they heard it, the echoing pained scream of their best friend.

"No!" she screamed lunging forward on instinct. If it hadn't been for Tucker grabbing her Sam probably would have dove into the swirling mass after Danny.

Sam threw an elbow at Tucker's face. "Let me go Tuck! Didn't you hear that scream? He's hurt!" she turned to glare at him as she spat out her words.

"I know Sam, but we can't go in there. We need help! Let's go find his parents. Maybe they know where that thing leads!" Tucker let go over Sam as he said this.

Her hands balled intofists, tears welling up in her eyes. Together they ran out of the lab shooting for the Fentons to come help.

POV Jack

They stayed up all night in that lab. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all frantically helping Mr. and Mrs. Fenton as they modified their hazmat suits for whatever conditions could be on the other side. It was the most quiet a room full of Fentons had ever been.

Jack, surprisingly, was the most quite of all. At the initial panic he had been shouting and urging Sam and Tucker on, but when grasped what they were saying, "Danny," "Portal," "Accident," Jack fell silent. All he said as he busily worked was a nearly inaudible, "Not again."

Everyone worked in a tense silence, torn about what to do. Every second they were terrified Danny could be dying or dead, but rushing in unprepared would just leave them in the same situation. All they could do was hope that somehow Danny was ok.

At half past one Jack's suit was rigged up to be able to survive even in space for what Maddie reasoned was about thirty minutes. They attached a long cable to him to serve as a tether and then Jack charged into the portal.

His vision swam as Jack entered the zone. He had dreamed of this day countless times. What should have been his greatest success. He would give it all away to see Danny safe and sound.

As his vision cleared Jack looked about to see several doors floating in an endless sea of swirling green ectoplasm. He tried to move, to swim to the doors and look for Danny, but he couldn't move, he had no way to propel himself. Jack pulled on the cable as his oxygen ran low and with his head hung low declared to his family, "There's no sign of him anywhere."

POV Sam

Tucker and Sam didn't go to school the next day. They stayed at the Fentons house with Jazz. At Jazz's insistence they both called their parents to let them know they were alright and sat down in the kitchen to eat. None of them were hungry, but Jazz being Jazz insisted they all eat. It was clear she fought through her worry by keeping busy just like her parents.

Jack and Maddie were still down in the lab. There had been a lot of shouting, followed by the sounds of construction, which was eventually replaced again by shouting. For the most part Maddie was the one telling. This was the second time her husband had hurt someone they loved do to his forgetfulness in not shutting the lab down. And for the most part Jack agreed. In his disappointment Jack left the lab with everything still running. No safety engaged, no computers shut down. He simply marched upstairs to give eat some Fenton fudge.

As the days went on both Jack and Maddie continued making leaps into the zone with hardly any rest. Each time though the doors looked different as the floated by in the zone. The made a makeshift propulsion pack to move through the zone by releasing burst of compressed air. They checked as many of the doors as the tether would reach, but all they found were a couple of ghostly octopuses which they quickly blasted.

After a week it seemed Danny was gone. The Fentons reported him as missing when the school called about his absences, not willing to give up hope.

Sam and Tucker though had been there, had heard the howling scream of pain as their friend was pulled into that machine. They didn't say it aloud, but both Sam and Tucker believed that Danny was gone.

At the start of the second week of Danny's disappearance, something happened. Sam had been petitioning the school board for a healthier organic lunch menu change. She called it Ultra-Recyclo-Vegetarian and had gone through a painstaking process to show the school board just how nutritious and cost effective the change would be. And on this Monday eleven days after the incident the school board put it into effect.

Normally Sam would have been elated, but now she was as miserable as anyone else during lunch, though for entirely different reasons.

Tucker had had it the worst. As a self proclaimed carnivore he struggled to even look at the food he was given for lunch. On top of that he had become Dash Baxter's new punching bag in the absence of Danny.

"What's wrong Foley?" Dash called walking up to Sam and Tucker's table. Tucker's dark skin had the color drained from it due to his grief, hunger, and pain inflicted by Dash. "Can't stomach the dirt your stupid goth friend has us all eating? Well here let me help!"

With that Dash grabbed Tucker by his beret and shoved his face into the tray of brown slop.

"Hey!" Sam yelled at Dash ready to defend her friend and her menu, but her biting words caught in her throat as she saw over Dash's should a lunch lady with green skin floating by in the kitchen.

"What is it freak? You want the mud?" Dash asked.

"You know what… You're right Dash." Sam said.

At this Dash let go of Tucker looking smug but confused. Tucker too looked up at Sam incredulously as the brown slop dripped off his face.

"This menu was a bad idea. How about Tucker and I go find you some really good in the kitchen." Sam said making eye contact with Tucker and flicking her gaze to the kitchens.

Grabbing his wrist Sam dragged Tucker to the kitchen. Where they saw the ghost floating around from shelf to shelf. She notices them quickly and floated over to then, a kind smile on her face.

"Well hello children. I seem to be a bit confused. Today's supposed to be meatloaf day, but I can't find any meatloaf. Did someone change the menu?" she clasped her hands punctuating her question.

"Uh yeah." Tucker said whipping the last remains of food from his face and pointing to Sam. "She did."

The ghost's white hair shot up like crackling flames and her eyes began to glow red.

"The menu has been the same for fifty years!" she screamed as pots and pans swirled around in the kitchen.

Sam and Tucker bolted out as a knife flew into the doorway behind them.

Tucker called Jazz immediately and told her to get her parents down to the school. By the time they arrived the Lunch Lady had destroyed the science wing of the school. The Fentons managed to chase her off with what looked like a rocket launcher that shot giant glowing orbs of energy, but she left screaming that the menu had better be fixed.

Following that ghosts began to show up frequently in Amity Park. Sam and Tucker were at the park when three vulture ghosts began attacking wildly. The Fentons had been getting calls multiple times a day to come deal with ghost in businesses and homes all over Amity Park, because the police just couldn't do a thing.

Sam and Tucker started hanging out at their house, half because they felt safer there, but half because they were hoping to hear about Danny. Jack and Maddie didn't have time to search though. With all of the calls they were getting day and night they hardly got sleep. Sam and Tucker offered to help, and Maddie began teaching them how to fight ghosts and trained them to use the Fenton ecto weapons.

Jack though spent every spare second in the lab trying to find a way to find his son. He didn't care if the world around him was falling apart. His world had already fallen apart, and this time he was determined to fix it.

 **So? Do you guys like the interludes or do you want it more to strictly follow Danny? I would love to hear what you want cause I could go either way. Feedback of any kind is always welcome and appreciated so please PM me.**

 **I'll be responding to any PMs in a similar manner to another writer named FriTik. I liked some of his ideas and with his permission plan to use some of them in upcoming chapters.**

 **Also be ready. I have a plan and if support keeps up this will become a story that rips your hearts out.** (cores out?) **So be looking for the subtext that is to come if you wanna try and puzzle it together.**

 **That's all for now. Thanks again to soniccrazygal for Acrylic, she will be pretty consistent for a while.**

 **All the best,**

 **StoneSmith**


	7. Chapter 5: Obsession

**Ok so first things first I can not promise future chapters will come timely. At the rate I've been going it's like 1 a year. So sorry.** **However, I still really enjoy writing this when I get the chance/remember to.** **Still accepting OCs. In fact I need a few soon if I'm going to proceed and I don't really have the time to come up with completely original characters.** **So please PM me if you have any your like me to use, just no halfas.** **With that out of the way let's catch up with Danny.**

POV: Danny

Danny followed Acrylic as she flew past door after door unsure of how far away their destination was. She was becoming more excited as they flew. In the past two weeks Danny had learned that anything involving painting flipped her switch. Transforming her from a calm teenage girl to an art crazed ghost.

Danny didn't mind though. The only thing that bother him was the way she sped through the zone. He still couldn't fly forward very fast despite two weeks of practice. It took all his focus to generate any kind of movement. While his speed was comparable to a brisk walk, Acrylic was easily flying 40 miles an hour.

So every time she doubled back only to speed off again in excitement Danny felt frustrated, and weirdly it wasn't because of Acrylic being somewhat inconsiderate. It wasn't Acrylic he was even annoyed with. It was himself.

He should be able to go faster. He felt like a burden. She had told him about a big exciting project and he had gone with her to help her, not to slow her down and be a bother.

"Danny."

This was her obsession, the thing she said keeps her from dying again, but this time permanently.

And he was slowing her down.

"Hey Danny!" Acrylic shouted.

Danny looked over his shoulder to see Acrylic far behind speeding after him. He stopped flying and she closed the gap between them.

"What the heck Danny? Why did you start speeding away all of a sudden? You flew right past the building." she said.

Danny scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry I uh. I guess I just got lost in thought."

"Lost in thought? For the last two weeks you could hardly float and just now you were flying faster than my top speed without even thinking about it?" Acrylic said, putting her hands on her hips to emphasize her words.

"Was I really going that fast?"

"Yeah," she said, "What the heck were you even thinking about?"

"I don't know. I guess just that I wanted to fly faster to catch up to you. Why?" Danny said.

"Cause the only reason I was going so fast is because I was thinking about painting, about my obsession. That's why I had to keep doubling back. I was struggling to slow down with my obsession on my mind. It's kinda why we call them obsessions and not hobbies or something." As she said this they began flying back towards their destination.

"I gotcha," Danny said as he once again struggled with his flying.

"Conversely though, if I'm not thinking about painting then I can't go that fast without exhausting myself in a couple minutes. My obsession was the thing giving me the power to fly that fast. So since you were flying even faster than me, whatever you were thinking about might be your obsession." Acrylic said.

"So what my obsession is catching up to people? What kind of sense does that make?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's just a desire to go fast or something. I know one ghost whose obsession is boxes for goodness sake. Your obsession making you act like Sonic the Hedgehog is far from the worst out there."

Danny laughed and wobbled in the air slightly as his concentration broke.

"Ok I guess it's not the worst obsession when you put it like that." he said.

"Who knows it might even just be one of your obsessions. Some ghost have multiple and it makes them really strong. There's this one girl ghost who lives here in the Barrens, Ember, she is an obvious example of a ghost with at least two. Everyone knows it too because one of hers is music, and she plays so loud it's kinda hard to avoid hearing her singing. The thing that makes it obvious she has more than one is the way her power swells when ghost actually stop and listen to her music. Any time she gets attention or recognition or something you can visibly see her power flare up. And judging by just how fast you were going, I'd Say you probably have more than one." Acrylic said.

"Oh. I see. How'd you learn all this Acrylic?" Danny asked as he touched down on the floating island hosting a massive white building that glowed softly purple. It has a domed window, lions statues on either side of the front steps, and seemed to be made out of giant books.

"Because I am friends with The Ghost Writer who lives here, and he lets me read his books if I help him out every now and again by doing illustrations." she said as her tail split into legs as she touched down beside Danny.

"Well that's pretty cool. There's so much I don't know about life as a ghost and I'm not much of a reader. I'm also pretty sure a toddler could illustrate a book better than I could. So I'm really grateful I have you to teach me. I guess what I'm trying to say is, thank you."

Acrylic beamed at Danny's words.

"Well I used to teach kids about art back when I was alive. So I'm good at working with beginners."

"Wait you remember things about being alive?" Danny asked.

"Some," Acrylic shrugged, "It tends to hit me in flashes. I only really remember stuff that is relevant to my obsession though.

"Then maybe I'll remember something that'll tell me a bit about who I was or clue me in as to what my obsession is." Danny said.

"Maybe," she said, "Now let's greet the ghost writer and let him know we're here already! You've gotten to ask a lot of questions so now let's talk about something important, painting!"

With that Danny and Acrylic walked up the steps and into The Ghost Writer's manor.

 **Hope it wasn't too short. Kinda just felt like a good stopping point.** **I'll try my best to get a few more chapters in consistently.** **As usual PM me if you want to talk and Reviews are much appreciated. The more reviews and follows I get the more guilty I feel if I don't update.** **So if you want more that's how you get it.** **All the best,** **Stonesmith**


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